Animal welfare and training consultancy

Photo credit: NC3RS

Laura has hosted seminars and workshops, presented at conferences, lectured and provided training to industry and academia across the UK, Europe and North America. She is also experienced at providing support to industry in the design and implementation of welfare assessment, modification and training for dogs. If you would like to host Laura for a workshop, seminar or site visit, please get in touch via email.

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Recent Posts: The Dog Lady: blog and news

Another one of my favourite “still” exercises – targeting. The nose-to-hand target is a brilliantly versatile behaviour and best of all, you can practice it sitting on the sofa in the evening. Some of the benefits of targeting include: teaching a very busy dog to slow down and think teaching body awareness can be used …

Ok I’m cheating, I’ve been very busy so I’ve condensed two days into one post. However, today’s topic is one I cannot get enough of… platform training! Platform training – teaching your dog to station on a raised platform – has traditionally been used to teach obedience behaviours, but is also great for a whole …

Previously on Facebook: The words no dog owner wants to hear from their vet: “zero exercise for a week” 😨 What do you do when you have a young,… Posted by The Dog Lady: Dog training and behaviour in Central Scotland on Saturday, 9 September 2017 As some of you might have seen, this week I …

Have you ever wondered why clicker training is particularly effective for training animals? Not only is it a clear way of communicating correct behaviour, but the anticipation of reward after the click activates the SEEKING system which releases dopamine and is more rewarding than the value of the reward alone. That's how we can make our training more valuable than distractions or a whole host of undesirable behaviours.

What's the difference between consummatory and appetitive? Appetitive behaviour involves a dopamine surge in specific parts of the brain. So in SEEKING, you get this dopamine fix - that you don't get when eating.

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Meme Week is an experiment, and the outcome depends on you! I will publish four Wannabe Memes per day for a week. They'll all be about how emotions in animals impact behaviour, learning and wellbeing. I'll also do daily Facebook Live sessions to explain and discuss that day's Meme Candidates.

What about the experiment, then? Well, I'm calling them Wannabe Memes, because likely, many of them are new to you. Some of them will resonate with you, and some won't. So, share and like the ones that appeal to you, and just ignore the ones that don't. Perhaps, if we're lucky, one or two will take off and become viral -together, we can create a mass movement that can really help animals and their people!

Interested in contributing to Meme Week? Submit your Wannabe Meme at this link, and have a chance at winning the prize: https://www.facebook.com/illis.se/videos/1286752498102508/

Once all Potential Memes have been presented, and we have a winner, you'll be able to access them all in a free Meme Week E-Book - just head over to the blog and order it - right here: http://illis.se/en/meme-week-animal-emotions/